THE Three Sisters Gardening Community Group in West Belfast has made the longlist of a prestigious environmental award and as a result is a contender to win the title of Ireland’s Greenest Community 2025.

The project transformed waste ground in the Oakman Street and Cavendish Street areas  of the Falls in a bid to improve their appearance while also boosting the wellbeing and health of local residents.

The initiative was among over 120 projects or places put forward by members of the public and the only entry from Antrim in ‘Ireland’s Greenest Places 2025’, an initiative, which is being run by The Irish Times in association with Electric Ireland.

The Three Sisters scooped the Aisling Environment Award last year.

Three Sisters Gardening Group Co-founder Brenda Gough said: “A concrete space is now a lush, productive area for people to gather.

“It’s about not being alone in a world, learning new skills or just having a place to sit in the sun.”

The Chair of the Judging Panel, Irish Times Features Editor Mary Minihan, said they had been hugely impressed by the quality and diversity of the environmental projects being undertaken around the country.

“It was extremely difficult for us to come up with the long list and we spent many hours reviewing and debating the entries. But that is a real compliment to the excellent quality of the work being done in the projects and the places which were nominated. So congratulations to the 26 projects who made it on the long list but also to everyone who entered and is doing such valuable work.

“Each place was judged on specific criteria including its beneficial environmental impact, level of ongoing collective engagement by the community and evidence of behavioural change by people. What was really pleasing to see is that the greening of so many places across Ireland has flipped from the cosmetic to delivering substantial environmental dividends.”

The shortlist for Ireland’s Greenest Places 2025 will be announced at the end of the month with the category winners and overall winner announced a fortnight later.